HVAC-Talk site will be slow for the next few days. It's normal site/server maintenance. Thx -Dad

Welcome to HVAC-Talk.com, a non-DIY site and the ultimate Source for HVAC Information & Knowledge Sharing for the industry professional! Here you can join over 150,000 HVAC Professionals & enthusiasts from around the world discussing all things related to HVAC/R. You are currently viewing as a NON-REGISTERED guest which gives you limited access to view discussions

To gain full access to our forums you must register; for a free account. As a registered Guest you will be able to:

Participate in over 40 different forums and search/browse from nearly 3 million posts.

how to warm up a centrifugal

I need to do an oil change on a CVHE. There is no hot water available near the chillers, so I need to find a portable water heater solution to warm the barrel. Preferably without taking 6 hours. Anyone have a piece of equipment they recommend? I think a propane heater would work the best, as the only power sources nearby are 120v or feeds equipment. Thanks.

One of the guys who used to come on this board had a 123 refrigerant drum that he converted to a vacuum chamber with isolation valves on the inlet and outlet. He would evacuate the drum to a pressure lower than the chiller, open the isolation valve, and it would suck the oil right out of the chiller. Use the vacuum in the chiller to draw the new oil in.

bluke1 - Okay here it is, no hot water generation needed only 120 volt outlet. From the sump valve on the oil tank connect a 1/2" refrigerant hose to a gear pump inlet side with a check valve on the discharge side to prevent back flow. Leave the sump valve closed at this point. Install a line from the check valve outlet with a sight glass on the end and connect to a vacuum pump, if you have any ball valves that would help. Start the vacuum pump and once the vacuum drops below the level of the sump pressure open the sump valve and watch for oil moving to the sight glass. Valve off the sight glass, shut off the vacuum pump and start the gear pump and drain your 7 gallons into a 100 # refrigerant can (now a waste oil drum) . This doesn't take long, but once your pump looses prime your done. Your can either suck the new oil in or valve off the sump and reverse the gear pump and pump the oil back in the sump. Just remember to purge the air out of the connection at the oil sump before opening that valve. I always pump the oil in as I know I won't get air in the sump. Good luck- GEO

Once in a while everything falls into place and I am able to move forward, most of the time it just falls all over the place and I can't go anywhere-GEO

Thanks for the advice. I have researched the question before I asked here. The local trane office told me that their method was to warm the chiller. I have searched gear pumps, but most seemed too large, high gpm. Can anyone be specific on the manuf. and model of the pump you are using?

bluke- You don't need a high dollar hydraulic oil pump, I have a 1/2 hp, 120volt pump that came from W.W,Grainger. Yes, it is preferable to heat the entire vessel up as then you can also do a leak check. bluke please remember though you ask for advice and got it. The guys on hvac-talk.com have years of experience doing this and have been in your situation long before we had this easy method of getting professional advice. I have almost 30 years myself and I still request information from others. Like the man said "Ain't none of us as smart as all of us". I am a professional technician in training and will be for years to come. Good luck -GEO

Once in a while everything falls into place and I am able to move forward, most of the time it just falls all over the place and I can't go anywhere-GEO